Standby Generators: what you need to know

On Friday, April 12th, the lights went out for 18,000 Peterborough Utilities customers, according to a recent article in the Examiner. Outside of the city, 150,000 Hydro One customers were without power as a fluke ice storm toppled trees and crippled power lines across the province. In times like these, your home can be affected in more ways than one.

Even if your house is a safe distance from the trees, inside, a sudden interruption in your home’s power supply can cause extensive damage. The contents of your fridge could spoil, wired electronics could short circuit, or your basement could flood if your sump pump malfunctions. Even if you were able to avoid any lasting damage to your home or property, now’s the perfect time to consider investing in a standby generator.

The basic purpose of a generator is to ensure that your home continues to receive power during an outage. Within a few seconds of a power failure, the generator senses the interruption and starts automatically. With a home backup generator, you can keep the heat and lights on and watch the storm’s latest developments on TV even if your neighbours are still in the dark.

SRP Electric’s team of dedicated electricians can help you choose the generator that is right for your home. Generac, which manufactures and distributes generators for residential, commercial and industrial use, offers a wide range of products whose outputs range from 800kW to 9MG, depending on the size of the load the generator is required to carry.

The decision to purchase a generator is an investment in your home’s future. SRPE’s electricians will arrange to have the unit installed safely and efficiently on your property to prevent you and your family from being left in the dark the next time a storm strikes.